(From Left to Right) G. Viswanathan, Founder and Chancellor, VIT; Y.B. Jagdeep Singh Deo, Deputy Chief Minister, Penang; and G.V. Selvam, vice-president. VIT, during MoU Signing Ceremony at the Chennai AI Summit 2026, held in Chennai on Friday.
| Photo Credit: R. Ravindran
Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai, and Penang STEM Sdn. Bhd., a state-owned company of the Government of Penang, Malaysia, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on professional training, capacity building, and technology cooperation in emerging fields, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cyber Security. The MoU was signed at the Chennai AI summit 2026 that was hosted at VIT, Chennai.
Under the agreement, VIT Chennai will design and deliver training programmes for employees nominated by the Penang state government. Officials and employees nominated by the Penang State government will visit VIT Chennai to undergo training and faculty from VIT Chennai will visit Penang to train employees there.
Y.B. Jagdeep Singh Deo, Deputy Chief Minister of Penang, said: “We are the Silicon Valley of the East. We have 450 multinational companies from around the world, including India. We are now expanding to the mainland, and we have two big industrial parks. In Penang, our traditional industry is the semiconductor industry. The chips used in mobile phones come from Penang. We produce 10% of the world’s chips.”
G.V. Selvam, Vice President of VIT, called AI the magic word. He added, “People say that you will lose your jobs because of AI, but that’s not true. AI will definitely give you a good future.”
Mr. Selvam told the students, “Don’t hesitate to share your ideas, and don’t think you’re too young to make a difference. Age is not a barrier so think innovatively.”
G. Viswanathan, founder and chancellor of VIT, said that the sessions will focus on quantum computing, cybersecurity and AI. The summit will also showcase the expanding role of AI in government, sports, and entertainment industry, he added.
Sankaranarayan Viswanathan, vice-president, Corporate Technology Office, Tata Consultancy Services Limited, said: “The biggest challenge right now in scaling up AI is not AI itself; it is power. Making renewable sources of energy reliable and readily available is a major challenge. Huge amounts of coding technologies are needed to run data centres, and that is another big challenge. There is also a huge need for AI models and algorithms to work in unison to deliver the required outcomes,” he pointed out.
Published – August 08, 2026 12:32 am IST
